The EU has voted to press ahead with hefty tariffs on China-made electric vehicles, laying the ground for what may become a trade war between two of the world's biggest economic regions.
The proposed “definitive countervailing duties” – which are up to 45 per cent, and are scheduled to go into effect from October 31 and will last for five years – were approved after the EU “obtained the necessary support” from its member states, the European Commission said in a statement on Friday.
The new tariff rates – which will be on top of the EU's standard 10 per cent car import duty – range from 7.8 per cent for Elon Musk's Tesla Motors to 35.3 per cent for SAIC and other Chinese EV makers that were found not to have co-operated with the EU's anti-subsidy investigation.
Ten EU members voted in favour of the tariffs, while five voted against and 12 abstained, according to reports quoting EU sources.
Germany, Europe's biggest economy, and its industry majors Volkswagen and BMW, are opposed to the tariffs. The car manufacturers said that it was “the wrong approach” and “a fatal signal for the European automotive industry”. The US-French-Italian group Stellantis reiterated its commitment to “free and fair competition”.
However, the EU and China will continue to “work hard to explore an alternative solution that would have to be fully WTO [World Trade Organisation]-compatible, adequate in addressing the injurious subsidisation established by the commission's investigation, monitorable and enforceable”, the commission added.
The Commission also said that it will not collect provisional duties dating back to July, when the EU first hit China-made EVs with up to 37.6 per cent of tariffs.
In the lead-up to Friday's decision, Beijing had urged the EU to delay implementing the tariffs until a compromise can been reached. China's Chamber of Commerce did not agree with the EU on what the former perceived to be “trade protectionism” measures, Chinese state media had reported.
Following the vote, China's Commerce Ministry hit out at the EU, calling the tariffs “unfair” and “unreasonable”. However, it acknowledged that they could still negotiate to resolve the issue.
“China firmly opposes the EU's draft final ruling, but has also noted the EU's political will to continue to resolve the issue through negotiations,” according to the ministry, adding that discussions with the EU are continuing and are scheduled to resume on Monday.
Beijing did not explicitly say it would retaliate; rather, it said it would “avoid escalation of trade frictions” through discussions. The ministry even offered what it called a “flexible price commitment” on the minimum pricing of vehicles the EU imports from China, to alleviate concerns that Chinese-made EVs would overrun the EU market.
However, China in August had already started anti-dumping investigation into certain EU exports, as well as an anti-subsidy investigation into EU dairy products. The EU launched a challenge to the dairy investigation at the WTO last week.
China's Commerce Ministry has also met with car makers and industry associations to discuss raising import duties on large-engine gasoline vehicles, which would hit German producers hardest.
Germany's exports of vehicles with engines of 2.5 litres or larger to China were worth $1.2 billion last year, Chinese customs data showed.
The EU believes China benefits from unfair subsidies after it formally began an investigation into Chinese EVs in October last year to determine if they breach anti-subsidy regulations.
An anti-subsidy investigation is initiated when the commission receives a valid complaint from an EU industry, providing sufficient prima facie evidence that a country is subsidising companies exporting a particular product to the EU and that this is causing injury to its industry.
The EU and China have conflicting views on this: the bloc wants to protect its own industry, while the world's second-largest economy sees this as selfish and counter to global trade rules, which are meant to promote fair competition, encourage economic development and prevent any related conflicts.
EU imports of EVs from China raced to $11.5 billion in 2023, from $1.6 billion in 2020 – a nearly 620 per cent surge that accounted for 37 per cent of all EV imports in the EU, latest data from New York-based research firm Rhodium Group shows.
In June, the commission announced it had provisionally concluded that the battery EV value chain in China benefits from unfair subsidies.
Chinese EV producers benefited from favourable terms, including the provision of preferential export insurance, income tax reductions and exemptions, dividend tax exemption, import and export tax rebates, value-added tax exemptions and rebates, and government provision of goods and services for less than adequate remuneration, the probe found.
“The investigation also examined the likely consequences and impact of measures on importers, users and consumers of BEVs in the EU,” the Commission had said.
“It is therefore foreseeable that the subsidised imports of the product concerned could continue to negatively affect the [EU] industry's economic situation.”
China is also facing fire from the US, after the Commerce Department last month proposed to ban the sale of internet-connected vehicles with Chinese and Russian software and hardware on American roads, which could affect consumers and US car makers, and possibly leading to higher prices.
Electoral College Victory
Trump has so far secured 295 Electoral College votes, according to the Associated Press, exceeding the 270 needed to win. Only Nevada and Arizona remain to be called, and both swing states are leaning Republican. Trump swept all five remaining swing states, North Carolina, Georgia, Pennsylvania, Michigan and Wisconsin, sealing his path to victory and giving him a strong mandate.
Popular Vote Tally
The count is ongoing, but Trump currently leads with nearly 51 per cent of the popular vote to Harris’s 47.6 per cent. Trump has over 72.2 million votes, while Harris trails with approximately 67.4 million.
The years Ramadan fell in May
Essentials
The flights: You can fly from the UAE to Iceland with one stop in Europe with a variety of airlines. Return flights with Emirates from Dubai to Stockholm, then Icelandair to Reykjavik, cost from Dh4,153 return. The whole trip takes 11 hours. British Airways flies from Abu Dhabi and Dubai to Reykjavik, via London, with return flights taking 12 hours and costing from Dh2,490 return, including taxes.
The activities: A half-day Silfra snorkelling trip costs 14,990 Icelandic kronur (Dh544) with Dive.is. Inside the Volcano also takes half a day and costs 42,000 kronur (Dh1,524). The Jokulsarlon small-boat cruise lasts about an hour and costs 9,800 kronur (Dh356). Into the Glacier costs 19,500 kronur (Dh708). It lasts three to four hours.
The tours: It’s often better to book a tailor-made trip through a specialist operator. UK-based Discover the World offers seven nights, self-driving, across the island from £892 (Dh4,505) per person. This includes three nights’ accommodation at Hotel Husafell near Into the Glacier, two nights at Hotel Ranga and two nights at the Icelandair Hotel Klaustur. It includes car rental, plus an iPad with itinerary and tourist information pre-loaded onto it, while activities can be booked as optional extras. More information inspiredbyiceland.com
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Zakat definitions
Zakat: an Arabic word meaning ‘to cleanse’ or ‘purification’.
Nisab: the minimum amount that a Muslim must have before being obliged to pay zakat. Traditionally, the nisab threshold was 87.48 grams of gold, or 612.36 grams of silver. The monetary value of the nisab therefore varies by current prices and currencies.
Zakat Al Mal: the ‘cleansing’ of wealth, as one of the five pillars of Islam; a spiritual duty for all Muslims meeting the ‘nisab’ wealth criteria in a lunar year, to pay 2.5 per cent of their wealth in alms to the deserving and needy.
Zakat Al Fitr: a donation to charity given during Ramadan, before Eid Al Fitr, in the form of food. Every adult Muslim who possesses food in excess of the needs of themselves and their family must pay two qadahs (an old measure just over 2 kilograms) of flour, wheat, barley or rice from each person in a household, as a minimum.
'The worst thing you can eat'
Trans fat is typically found in fried and baked goods, but you may be consuming more than you think.
Powdered coffee creamer, microwave popcorn and virtually anything processed with a crust is likely to contain it, as this guide from Mayo Clinic outlines:
Baked goods - Most cakes, cookies, pie crusts and crackers contain shortening, which is usually made from partially hydrogenated vegetable oil. Ready-made frosting is another source of trans fat.
Snacks - Potato, corn and tortilla chips often contain trans fat. And while popcorn can be a healthy snack, many types of packaged or microwave popcorn use trans fat to help cook or flavour the popcorn.
Fried food - Foods that require deep frying — french fries, doughnuts and fried chicken — can contain trans fat from the oil used in the cooking process.
Refrigerator dough - Products such as canned biscuits and cinnamon rolls often contain trans fat, as do frozen pizza crusts.
Creamer and margarine - Nondairy coffee creamer and stick margarines also may contain partially hydrogenated vegetable oils.
The five pillars of Islam
BMW M5 specs
Engine: 4.4-litre twin-turbo V-8 petrol enging with additional electric motor
Power: 727hp
Torque: 1,000Nm
Transmission: 8-speed auto
Fuel consumption: 10.6L/100km
On sale: Now
Price: From Dh650,000
The years Ramadan fell in May
How to vote
Canadians living in the UAE can register to vote online and be added to the International Register of Electors.
They'll then be sent a special ballot voting kit by mail either to their address, the Consulate General of Canada to the UAE in Dubai or The Embassy of Canada in Abu Dhabi
Registered voters mark the ballot with their choice and must send it back by 6pm Eastern time on October 21 (2am next Friday)
TOURNAMENT INFO
Fixtures
Sunday January 5 - Oman v UAE
Monday January 6 - UAE v Namibia
Wednesday January 8 - Oman v Namibia
Thursday January 9 - Oman v UAE
Saturday January 11 - UAE v Namibia
Sunday January 12 – Oman v Namibia
UAE squad
Ahmed Raza (captain), Rohan Mustafa, Mohammed Usman, CP Rizwan, Waheed Ahmed, Zawar Farid, Darius D’Silva, Karthik Meiyappan, Jonathan Figy, Vriitya Aravind, Zahoor Khan, Junaid Siddique, Basil Hameed, Chirag Suri
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Killing of Qassem Suleimani
How to register as a donor
1) Organ donors can register on the Hayat app, run by the Ministry of Health and Prevention
2) There are about 11,000 patients in the country in need of organ transplants
3) People must be over 21. Emiratis and residents can register.
4) The campaign uses the hashtag #donate_hope
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Zayed Sustainability Prize
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Most sought after workplace benefits in the UAE
- Flexible work arrangements
- Pension support
- Mental well-being assistance
- Insurance coverage for optical, dental, alternative medicine, cancer screening
- Financial well-being incentives
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